Morton city clerk who admitted to embezzling nearly $1M will not go to prison

A former Morton city official who admitted to stealing nearly $1 million from city funds over the course of nine years will not go to prison.

Tamara “Tammy” Clevenger was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to repay the embezzled money, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday.

Morton city clerk pleads guilty to wire fraud

Clevenger, who served as the city’s clerk-treasurer from 2012 to 2022, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May at the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, according to the Department of Justice. 

The investigation started after a 2024 audit by the Washington State Auditor’s Office uncovered unauthorized withdrawals and fraudulent transactions totaling $937,584. According to court records, Clevenger used several tactics to misappropriate public funds.

City clerk stole nearly $1M

Between 2015 and 2021, Cevenger pocketed more than $311,000 in cash payments made by residents for city services. Officials said she wrote bogus checks and made unauthorized cash withdrawals using the city’s ATM card to conceal the transactions. From 2013 to 2021, she issued over $625,000 in city checks to herself using pre-signed checks meant for emergencies. 

The fraud involved the use of interstate wire transfers, including a $5,800 transaction that crossed state lines through Umpqua Bank servers, making it a federal crime.

Morton officials have since updated internal procedures to prevent any one employee from having sole control over transactions. Clevenger agreed to repay the money and had already returned $8,626 to the city’s accounts.

This story was originally published on May 8, 2025. It has been updated and republished since then.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest